Now there’s a Democrats Abroad branch in the Coronado area

What’s happening among US voters in Coronado is likely akin to the shift of US suburbs to the Democrats, especially among women voters. Because voting from abroad entails absentee ballots sent to where a person last lived in the States, we don’t get accurate numbers. It does appear likely, however, that the Democrats carried Coronado in 2018, as would not have happened before. Archive photo by Eric Jackson.

Democrats Abroad Panama organizes Coronado area branch

by Democrats Abroad

A new branch of Democrats Abroad has been started in the Playa Coronado area with the goal of helping US Citizens in Panama understand how to vote, helping them get registered, and ensure they are not purged from voting rolls. Democrats Abroad is the Democratic Party arm for the millions of Americans living outside the borders of the country. But the group is non-partisan with respect to voter registration.

US Citizens have the right to vote in federal elections no matter where they are currently living. The US State Department estimates more than nine million Americans are residing outside the country in 2019 — a larger population than almost 40 states. In 2018, about 221,000 US citizens abroad actually cast a ballot.

The State Department estimates about 25,000 Americans are living in Panama currently, and Democrats Abroad has local groups in Boquete, el Valle, and Panama City as well as the Playa Coronado area. DA-Panama has plans for several “Get Out the Vote” events in the coming months starting in January and will participate in the Democratic Global Presidential Primary that takes place from March 3 through 10, 2020. Look for announcements here about dates and locations.

“We’ve had about 25 Democrats at each of our first two local gatherings,” said Kim Antonsen, DA-Panama Chair. “The diverse opinions, enthusiasm and knowledge among them make for a fun and energetic event every time.”

To register to vote from abroad – generally in the last place in the USA where you lived – go to Vote From Abroad here. People who are dual US and Panamanian citizens can vote in US elections as well, and for those who are more comfortable in Spanish, the Vote From Abroad website now has a Spanish section.